1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus for printing to a cut-sheet form, to a printing apparatus capable of selecting an operation to be performed when a cut-sheet form is inserted, to a method for controlling such a printing apparatus, and to a recording medium for storing the control method and related control program.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 11 shows an example of a printer that prints on cut paper (slip paper). This printer 9 is provided with paper path 11 which extends in the horizontal direction and in which printing paper 1 is fed from the right side of the figure for printing. Along this paper path 11, starting from the right side, the printer 9 includes BOF (Bottom of Form) sensor 21 for sensing the presence of slip paper 1 and the end of the paper during printing, paper-feeding roller 31 and paper-pressing roller 32 for feeding slip paper 1 along paper path 11, platen 36 and printing head 37 for printing slip paper 1, TOF (Top of Form) sensor 22 for sensing the presence of slip paper 1 and the leading edge of the paper, and form stopper 15 for positioning the paper by striking the leading edge of paper 1 when slip paper 1 is inserted into paper path 11. Next to these components, paper guide 14 for guiding printed paper 1 to the paper discharge port is provided. In this printer 9, printing area 35, equipped with platen 36 and print head 37, is formed inside the area (insertion area 12) in which slip paper 1 is inserted into a predetermined position by placing its leading edge against form stopper 15, thus shortening the distance that paper 1 must travel and enabling fast printing.
Printer 9 is further provided with platen drive mechanism 40 which moves platen 36 up and down in the direction perpendicular to paper path 11 and which pushes platen 36 toward print head 37 after slip paper 1 has been inserted into insertion area 12 so that paper 1 can be printed. Platen drive mechanism 40 is provided with platen frame 42 which pushes platen 36 upward with spring 41, platen opening/closing rod 43 which controls the up and down movements of platen frame 42 by contacting inclined area 42a of platen frame 42, and opening/closing solenoid 44 which moves the position of platen opening/closing rod 43. When platen opening/closing rod 43 is moved in the left/right directions of FIG. 11 by opening/closing solenoid 44, platen frame 42 moves either downward or upward, making it possible for platen 36 to enter and exit from paper path 11. Furthermore, paper-feeding roller 31, working with platen frame 42, moves with platen 36, and slip paper 1 inserted into insertion area 12 is clamped between paper-pressing roller 32 and paper-feeding roller 31, and thus the movements of paper 1 can be controlled by paper-feeding mechanism 34. As explained above, the paper-feeding mechanism of printer 9 becomes active or inactive in linkage with opening/closing of the platen.
Furthermore, since platen opening/closing rod 43 also contacts inclined area 16a of stopper frame 16 which rotatably supports form stopper 15, and this inclined area 16a faces the opposite direction from inclined area 42a of platen frame 42. Consequently, the movement of opening/closing rod 43 makes platen 36 protrude into paper path 11 and at the same time makes form stopper 15 withdraw from paper path 11. Since the setting of printing paper 1 is completed in this way, slip paper 1 is fed to the proper position by paper-feeding roller 31, and furthermore, print head 37 is moved by a drive mechanism (not shown in FIG. 11) in the scanning direction perpendicular to the paper-feeding direction, thereby printing paper 1 in the desired locations.
Paper-feeding mechanism 34 is also equipped with paper-feeding motor 33 for driving rollers 31 and 32 and control unit 50 which can control printing by print head 37. Signals from TOF sensor 22 and BOF sensor 21 are input into control unit 50, and the process of installing slip paper 1 in printer 9 is controlled by having these sensors 21 and 22 check for the presence of slip paper 1.
As described above, a slip form indexing operation is automatically performed when a form is inserted to a conventional printer as a means of ensuring that the form is correctly positioned and is printed at a specific position.
However, there are cases in which it is desirable to position a specific part of a form to be printed to the position traversed by the print head, and then print with the form in the selected position. This is referred to below as "targeted printing." One exemplary application for targeted printing is check printing, or more specifically, printing the amount to a specific position on the check. In the conventional printer described above, however, a form is automatically indexed to a predetermined position in the paper path when the form is inserted, and targeted printing to a specific desired position on the form is therefore not possible.
3. Objects of the Invention
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned problems.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a printing apparatus that can selectively apply the process performed when a form or paper to be printed is inserted according to a printing objective.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a method for controlling such a printing apparatus and a recording medium for storing a control program for causing the method to be performed.